Caesars Palace Las Vegas casino dealers vote to join UAW

Seven days after workers at four other Las Vegas properties approved the move, some 550 table game dealers at Caesars Palace Las Vegas Casino voted on Saturday, March 23, 2019, to join the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).

Saturday’s 371-12 tally comes on the heels of nearly 1,500 gaming dealers from the Wynn, Paris, Harrah’s and Bally’s casino’s vote on March 17, 2019, to join the UAW. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) had been representing table game dealers from the casinos, however, in January decided to close out is Gaming Division that represented upwards of 1,000 dealers at a handful of Vegas hotels.

Growing membership:

UAW President, Gary Jones, said, “We are thrilled to have Caesars Palace gaming dealers vote to be allowed to join what are now over 10,000 casino workers in the UAW. In just this past week the UAW has welcomed over 2,000 new Las Vegas casino workers.”

Also commenting on the approval, director for UAW Region 5, Vance Peterson, said…

“We welcome these workers into the UAW family and look forward to getting down to business and bargaining great contracts.”

Workers in 27 casinos across the U.S. are now represented by the UAW, including gaming dealers in Las Vegas at the Flamingo/Margaritaville, Cromwell and LINQ Casinos, according to the news release.

Flagship property:

Situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip, the flagship property of American gaming giant, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, was established in 1966. One of Sin City’s largest best-known landmarks, the property features 3,976 rooms and suites spanning six towers, 300,000-plus square feet of convention space and a 124,181 square foot gaming floor.

Eldorado interest:

According to a March 17, 2019, Reuters report, the Paradise-headquartered casino operator and Reno-based Eldorado Resorts Inc. are in talks regarding a possible merger. The news agency communicated that “people familiar with the matter” said that Caesars is providing Eldorado with “some limited confidential information,” which is “carrying out due diligence on the potential combination of the two companies.”‘

Icahn stake increases:

The discussions regarding a possible deal come after what is the largest owner of casinos in the U.S [Caesars Entertainment] agreed earlier this month to give New York-based investor, Carl Icahn, a trio of board seats to his representatives, Keith Cozza, Courtney Mather and James Nelson. The move puts the billionaire businessman in position to have a say in choosing a new chief executive officer for the company.